Political Quotes

“Obviously, each of us had our own reaction to the speech that was given by the President last night. He had every right under the First Amendment to say what he believed, what he was going to do, and what he wanted us to do. I suggest to you that if I took this card and tore it up because I didn't like what was on the card, I am protected by the First Amendment in doing that. That is a form of speech. If the effort is to shut one another up, perhaps we will go down that road. But, clearly, most of you in this House, or at least some of you in this House, have said an act of destroying things that the leader alleges are property of the House--I will ask for a ruling on that, Mr. Speaker, in just a minute--but is an act of disagreement. It is not an assertion, per se, that what was said was wrong, disagreed with, or anything else. It was not an outcry to the President of the United States that ``You lie'' that clearly undermined the decorum of this House. Frankly, I did not see the Speaker tear that up. I have seen it on television. It has been played, but I would suggest to you very seriously--well, whether anyone saw it or not, that is not my argument. My argument is, if each of us watches closely on the floor each of our actions and we deem those actions to be disrespectful, either to the Speaker, that is, the Speaker at the rostrum or from the microphones behind the desk, do we bring a resolution that that was disrespectful?…”